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Newark 42, Pickerington North 41 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Cade Torbert, 02/04/21, 9:45AM EST

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Wildcats gets defensive and secures big win over Pickerington North

NEWARK, Ohio -- For the first time since the opener, Newark notched a home win as the Wildcats knocked off Pickerington North 42-41 at Jim Allen Gymnasium on Wednesday night. The Wildcats

Defense ruled the opening minutes for the most part, but Pickerington North couldn’t seem to stop senior Elijah Hinton, as he caught fire from behind the arc by draining three triples in the quarter. Senior Casey George added five points in the frame for Pickerington North keeping the score close, trailing just 11-9.

Newark outscored the Panthers 15-8 in the second quarter due to great spacing, which created driving lanes to the paint. The Wildcats seemed to thrive in this offense, executing at a high rate. Senior Drew Ballinger pitched in seven points in the second quarter to extend the Wildcats lead to nine going into halftime.

Ballinger was receiving a lot of attention from the Panthers defense, so he rose to the occasion by assisting on the first three baskets to start the third quarter.

Pickerington North upped the tempo midway through the third quarter, leading to a 10-0 run to take their first lead since the score of 5-4. This run was in large part by the stellar play of guards  senior Casey George and  juniors Corey Hudson and Jerry Saunders, who all seemed to thrive in the uptempo style.

Sophomore Grant Burkholder halted the Panthers' run with a nifty floater going down the lane, but eight points in the quarter by Saunders helped Pickerington North hold a 35-34 going into the final frame.

With 5:40 left in the fourth quarter, Newark regained the lead with a strong driving layup by Ballinger, but it didn’t last long as senior Elijah Hawk answered with a layup to put the Panthers back on top.

With 2:17 left in the final period, Hudson came up with a big steal leading to a fast break layup through contact to put the Panthers up three. Ballinger wasn’t going to let Newark go down without a fight, as he made a layup, followed by a taking a charge on the defensive end, leading to Hinton making both at the  line to put the Wildcats up one.

After battling back and forth the entire final quarter, Pickerington North called time out trailing by one with just over a minute on the clock. With the game on the line the Wildcats put together an incredible defensive stand, preventing any looks at the basket for over a minute. The Panthers got the final shot attempt off with just seconds remaining, with Hinton going up high to pull down the game sealing rebound.

Newark’s Hinton led all scorers with 15 points, while Ballinger pitched in 13 points and a game high four assists.

George was the leading scorer and rebounder for Pickerington North with 12 and six. Hudson poured in 11 points, while Saunders contributed eight.

Both teams are back in action on Friday. Newark (7-7) hosts Central Crossing, while Pickerington North (8-4) takes on Grove City.

Drew Ballinger (6'4 WF / Newark / 2021): The Newark offense goes as Ballinger goes, he scored or assisted on 11 of his team's 16 field goals. He has become a much more complete scorer over the last 3 years. He is still one of the more dangerous three point threats in the area. He has improved his ability to score off the dribble. He thrived in Newark's spread offensive sets, getting to the rim where he is a very solid finisher. Ballinger’s complete game was critical to hold off the talented Panthers. The senior guard filled the stat sheet in this game with 13 points and team highs with six rebounds and five assists. Newark will need this type of consistent production from Ballinger to make another strong tournament run.

Kade Bafford (6’1 PG / Newark / 2021): The senior guard can best be described by one word, 'winner'. You have to go beyond the stat sheet to appreciate all that Bafford does to help his team. He has been the heart of this Newark program since he stepped in the gym his freshmen year. He is a capable scorer and is the primary ball handler against pressure. In the final minute of this game he got the call to guard Pickerington North’s sharpshooter Casey George. The ball was inbounded to George to start the final possession, once he gave the ball up, Bafford prevented him from touching it again for the entire final minute of the game. It's this type of effort and mentality that makes Newark a dangerous team as tournament time approaches.

Casey George (6’0 PG / Pickerington North / 2021): The Panthers senior has become one of the best all around guards in the area. He is a complete player, excelling on both ends of the floor. He can score from all levels and is a solid rebounder at the guard position. The Panthers half court offense looked out of rhythm as the Newark game plan seemed to be centered around slowing down the 18 point per game scorer. Even with an outstanding defender in Bafford face guarding him most of the night, George showed to be a creative scorer with constant off ball movement and the ability to knock down contested shots. Look for George and the Panthers to be a tough draw in the Central District Tournament.

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